Wing Commander CIC

I bought WC3 and WC4 one and a half years and played for a few months. Then I moved to prophecy. I can finish all the missions in WC3 and WC4 on hard level, and very few in Nightmare level. The biggest problem is, in Nightmare level, enemy fighters use the afterburners too often and I can hardly catch them. They can also easily spoof my missiles. Do you have any suggestions? I greatly appreciate your help.